This is an eco-political blog written for the sole purpose of participating in the conversation. It is a place to talk about most politics with a concentration on sustainability news and issues, state and local politics and progressive issues.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Green Valentines for Earth

In a few days it will be Valentines Day, a holiday of chocolate, love and cards. I woke this morning to find a very interesting video from Vote Solar, a California organization that is attempting to push the solar agenda for clean, renewable energy. This video was a Valentine to the environment. I have to admit it sort of got me in the holiday spirit.

But back to Valentines Day. It seems like holidays are a great way to advance the green agenda. Just by slightly spinning the message of the season we are able to tweak it green. The movie Valentines Day is attempting to have a "green opening" though I doubt it will make it a better movie it is rather interesting how certain industries have begun to self enforce an unspoken "green law."

Major holidays and worldwide events are being utilized to advance environmental awareness. Even the Olympics are keeping to the sustainable track which is rather amazing. If you will recall, the most recent Olympics in China had the effect of forcing the Chinese government to take a serious look at the environment. At least the environment around Beijing. According to the Council on Foreign Relations;

What impact has the 2008 Olympics had on China's environmental policy?

As part of Beijing's bid to host the summer games, China promised a "green" Olympics. Since then, Beijing has witnessed some improvements, with air quality improving each year since 2001. From 1998 to 2007, Beijing spent $15.7 billion on environmental initiatives. According to the Chinese government, the city saw only 100 days with good air quality in 1998, while there were 241 such days in 2007. To cut down pollution, Beijing temporarily moved or shut down factories (AP), decided to take more than 1.5 million cars off the road during the Games, revamped its mass transit system, and built new wastewater treatment plants, among many other things.

I feel that we need to send our leaders; Local, State, National and even International a Valentine from the environment. We need to push renewable industry and demand a real change. We should give the environment "love coupons." For those who never did this for friends, family or loved ones, a "love coupon" book is a book filled with coupons redeemable for chores and favors like back rubs. We should each write one for the environment; 30 things that are redeemable at any time in the year that we can do to make the world a greener, safer place. Lists can be found everywhere but lets use the Holiday to motivate action.